A Glycosyltransferase from Arabidopsis thaliana Enables the Efficient Enzymatic Synthesis of Gastrodin

Gastrodin is an important plant-derived medicinal ingredient that has been used to treat various diseases. Biosynthesis is an effective strategy for gastrodin production, but the expression and activity of natural glycosyltransferases (GTs) is generally a limiting factor. To identify highly efficient GTs, four plant-derived enzymes were identified by homologous sequence analysis and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). A GT from Arabidopsis thaliana (At UGT) displayed the highest activity of 0.45 U/mg, with an optimal pH of 9.0 and high thermostability. Under optimized conditions, 10 mM p -hydroxybenzyl alcohol and uridine diphosphate glucose were converted into 2.67 g/L gastrodin, corresponding to a conversion rate of 94.34% in 12 h. Furthermore, molecular docking simulations were performed between At UGT and p -hydroxybenzyl alcohol, revealing the catalytic mechanism of At UGT. This study provides a novel and effective biocatalyst for the synthesis of gastrodin. Graphical Abstract